general officer

American  

noun

Military.

1. an officer ranking above colonel.

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general officer British  

noun

1. an officer holding a commission of brigadier's rank or above in the army, air force, or marine corps

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Etymology

Origin of general officer

An Americanism dating back to 1635–45

Example Sentences

Feinberg picked a new class of portfolio managers from the general officer corps to oversee particularly expensive weapons programs.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

Officials said the verdict marked the first court-martial trial and conviction of a general officer in the Air Force’s 75-year history.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 26, 2022

Cooley, whose career with the Air Force began in 1988, was the first general officer in his service’s history to be criminally prosecuted.

From Washington Post • Apr. 25, 2022

In 1979, Mr. Powell, then 42, was promoted to one-star general, becoming the youngest general officer in the Army at the time.

From New York Times • Oct. 18, 2021

After being appointed, in 1830, a general officer, he was present in the campaign in Poland, and was wounded at the battle of Grochow, on the 25th of February 1831.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 2 "Gloss" to "Gordon, Charles George" by Various